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The planned merger announced in April between two renowned supply chain-centric organizations––APICS, a professional organization for supply chain operations management and provider of research, education, and certification programs focused on elevating supply chain excellence, innovation, and resilience, and the Supply Chain Council, a global, non-profit management organization focused on helping its membership make significant supply chain process improvements––has been made official.

The joint organization will be known as APICS and the APICS Foundation will be called APICS Supply Chain Council, with the SCC brand being maintained and leveraged post-merger, according to APICS.

The organizations said that this merger brings together two industry leaders with complimentary offerings to “create the premier global provider of supply chain research, education, and certification programs and offer a single source solution for individuals and corporations that want to evaluate and augment their supply chains.

APICS and Supply Chain Council officials said that this merger creates a global leader in supply chain solutions and poised to benefit members, customers, partners, and employees in various ways, including:
-creating an industry-leading portfolio of brands;
-ensuring investment, improvement, and continued relevancy of training standards, certifications, and intellectual capital;
-strengthens global competitive position;
-building a strong platform for growth; and
-capturing significant operational efficiencies

“As APICS and APICS SCC, we now have the resources to ensure supply chain organizations are ready to address two of the most important topics in the global economy today – elevating supply chain performance and developing supply chain talent,” said Abe Eshkenazi, CEO of APICS, in a statement.

Eshkenazi told LM in an April interview that there were multiple drivers behind this merger.

“APICS and SCC have collaborated on a number of occasions in the past, during which time our organizations got to know each other and understand the possibilities that could be created by unification,” he explained. “This merger not only brings our organizations closer, but also unites us with an important purpose¬¬––advancing supply chain performance and developing supply chain talent.”

Corporations, said Eshkenazi, want to know that professional standards are aligned with corporate supply chain competencies and innovation, and the combination facilitates this alignment. And he said that with this merger comes significant market opportunity, noting that as this market has matured, companies, and APICS’ customers, are looking for a single source for their supply chain education, training and certification programs.

“Both SCC and APICS realized that the ability to distinctly serve our members, customers, companies and partners through a single-source solution that combined our highly complementary products was the best option, he said, noting that “this was the driving force behind our merger.”

One of the primary reasons cited by Eshkenazi for combining the two organizations was the increased benefits a joint organization would bring to both APICS and SCC members, explaining that while APICS has individual members and SCC has corporate members, there are benefits for both types—with greater access to resources, and more opportunities to learn and network serving as some of the key benefits.

When asked to offer up some examples of how this merger will provide an improved portfolio of products to elevate supply chain performance and develop supply chain talent, Eshkenazi said that SCC SCOR (the Supply Chain Operations Reference-model, the supply chain management community’s most widely accepted framework for evaluating and comparing supply chain activities and performance) is already an important element in the APICS certification programs, with closer integration and further enhancements anticipated as a result of this combination.

“APICS powerful network and global presence will enable greater access to SCC’s SCOR-P and other training programs, and trained professionals who can use SCOR frameworks to implement improved supply chain processes,” he said. “Ultimately, this will elevate global supply chain performance. SCC’s strong corporate relationships with supply chain leaders will increase access to key decision makers who champion supply chain training programs, leading to more opportunities to educate and certify supply chain professionals.

This merger takes two industry leaders and joins them together to offer best-in-class research, education, training and certification for the supply chain industry – it’s a huge opportunity for existing and new members and customers, added Eshkenazi.

Eshkenazi will continue to serve as CEO of APICS and SCC Executive Director Joseph Francis will serve as executive director of the APICS Foundation. And through the end of 2014, APICS and SCC said that there will
be an expanded, transitional Board of Directors with board members from each organization’s Board.

“The completion of this merger is an important milestone for APICA and a historic moment for the global supply chain industry,” said John Sells, chair of the SCC Board of Directors. “APICS and the APICS Supply Chain Council (APICS SCC) together offer the first and only single-source solution for individuals and corporations looking to evaluate and improve supply chain performance.” APICS SCC combines SCC and APICS Foundation research and development programs, the organization said.

About the Author

Jeff BermanGroup News Editor

Jeff Berman is Group News Editor for Logistics Management, Modern Materials Handling, and Supply Chain Management Review. Jeff works and lives in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, where he covers all aspects of the supply chain, logistics, freight transportation, and materials handling sectors on a daily basis. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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